FORMER Albion warrior John Wile played a part in some of the clubs greatest triumphs on the park and off it helped put the building blocks in place that led the club into the Premiership for the first time.

Images of his bloodied and heavily bandaged forehead in a Highbury FA Cup semi-final defeat still burn brightly in supporters memories despite the 28 years that have elapsed since his clash of heads with Ipswich Town's Brian Talbot.

Wile, now 59, spent 13 years as a player at The Hawthorns, rattling in 619 appearances, and went on to spend five fruitful years as chief executive at a time when Gary Megson was at the helm of a club rebuilding after 15 years of mediocrity.

Crucial decisions had to be taken in the years that preceded what remains a treasured piece of Albion's recent history when they pipped rivals Wolves to promotion.

And, according to Wile many, many more - like this week's decisions to reject a #3.5million bid from Tottenham for Curtis Davies and a #1.75million bid from Wigan for Zoltan Gera - will have to be made in the next two and a half months if they are to regain their top flight status.

Under Wile's stewardship the club rose like a phoenix after being on the brink of going down to the third tier of English football. Jeremy Peace won't be facing such pitfalls under Bryan Robson, but even Robson knows the statistics of an immediate return aren't good.

Wile said: "The club can go one of two ways. They can be reckless and go for broke, which I'm sure they won't do, or they could do some business then see how the season starts before going on from there.

"Do they go for experienced players who have seen it, done it and bought the t-shirt, or do they go for hungry young players who are desperate to get that t-shirt?"

Albion rarely bought or sold badly when Wile, chairman Paul Thompson and Megson were working in tandem.

Wile continues: "The two criteria we used was, "Are we getting value for money?" and "Is the player substantially better than what we've already got?

"Spending #300,000 on a player and making the wrong decision can be expensive. Spending #2million on the right player can be very, very cheap.

"We signed Derek McIness and his work ethic and professionalism rubbed off on everybody. He may not have been the best player and some days he couldn't pass for toffee, but he had a massive impact at Albion.

"Darren Moore was another. He had a terrific attitude both on and off the pitch. In my playing days, Johnny Giles transformed Don Howe's struggling Albion team because he was playing in the side."

Wages have been a particular sticking point for Albion, particularly with the failed move to bring in Ugo Ehiogu in the January window.

Wile believes that this time around there should be no hard and fast rules.

"Of course you will have a structure in place but you can also allow for certain things," he said. "If a player is going to be so influential that he can drag the lower earners and everybody up, then the whole club benefits.

"As a team, including the manager and the scouts, we made some good decisions and we also took some tough decisions. Three heads were always better than two, two heads is always better than one. You cannot run a club by committee because one man has always got to draw the line and make decisions - the chairman or manager have to have the right of veto. And you could never sign someone that the manager doesnt want."

Many of Albion's signings under Wile, like Neil Clement and Russell Hoult, are still at the club. Andy Johnson has only just been released.

Others, like Jordao, Igor Balis, Phil Gilchrist, Bob Taylor, Larus Sigurdsson, Ruel Fox, Michael Appleton, Tony Butler, Scott Dobie and Danny Dichio played a massive part in transforming a club who had finished 21st in the now Championship in 2000 into one that just two years later was playing in the top flight.

Central to Wile and Thompson's beliefs were that the manager of a club must not have the ability to buy and sell players at a whim.

It is a philosophy that has worked on the continent for decades but, in Wiles eyes, only the biggest clubs in the Premiership have followed suit.

"A manager should not stand alone because eventually he will get hit. The majority of clubs operate on solely the manager's decisions, and that's why so many managers pay the price."